Schumer blasts Trump for threatening to shut down government over border wall

WASHINGTON – Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) blasted President Donald Trump on Wednesday for threatening to shut down the government if Congress does not allocate funds to begin construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“If the President pursues this path, against the wishes of both Republicans and Democrats, as well as the majority of the American people, he will be heading towards a government shutdown which nobody will like and which won’t accomplish anything,” Schumer said in a statement.

During a Tuesday evening rally in Phoenix, Trump said: “If we have to close down our government, we’re building that wall.”

During the Phoenix rally the president suggested that he is strongly considering pardoning former Maricopa County sheriff Joe Arpaio.

On July 31 Arpaio was found guilty of criminal contempt for violating a court-ordered injunction that barred the sheriff’s office from further engaging in immigration raids that federal authorities deemed discriminatory in nature.

Arpaio is widely regarded as a hero among opponents of illegal immigration.

The federal government will run out of money at the end of September if Congress does not approve a spending bill to maintain funding beyond that date.

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Bryan is a reporter and political columnist with Baltimore Post-Examiner and has broken multiple stories involving athletic scandals. He has been interviewed by ABC's Good Morning America as well as Baltimore area radio stations. Bryan has both covered and worked in the Maryland General Assembly and is extremely knowledgeable of politics, voting patterns and American history. In addition to his regular duties, Bryan freelances for several publications and performs investigative research. He has a B.A. in Political Science. Contact the author.